Paladin, Oath of Philena

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Overview & Creation

"If you would so desire, fellow Meridian, you too could take on the Oath of Philena. But know this... The Oath of Philena relinquishes the art of destruction preached by those who would follow Mikkael, and instead offers unto you the power of protection and healing. If you would find the burdens of unconditional love to be unfathomable, it is recommended you turn away now..."   The paladin class is one where the individual swears a personal oath to something or someone. Sometimes this is a god, other times this is to a principle, and sometimes it is unto a personal goal.   Paladins who swear the Oath of Philena embody the principles of the goddess of love and affection. They swear to protect others and to halt the progress of suffering in the world. It has elements of the Oath of Devotion and the Oath of Redemption.   Paladins who swear this oath take up the tenets of Philena in particular, but breaking such an oath, unlike other paladin oaths, does not necessitate that the paladin becomes an oathbreaker. Rather, any oath feature comes with a 25% success rate (roll a 4 on 1d4) until the paladin has become successful in redeeming themselves.   This particular paladin was designed with the Meridian race in mind who follow the Mer Orthodoxy. However, you can use this class with any character that follows a goddess of love, as this embodies the typical idealized "knight in shining armor" often spoken of in fairy tales.  

Quick Build

You can make a paladin quickly by following these suggestions. First, Strength should be your highest score. Your next highest score should be Charisma. Second, choose the noble background.   For this particular oath, however, you may also follow these guidelines.

• If you would like more hit points and better protective abilities, make Constitution your second highest or highest score.
• Strength mainly affects your damage. However, you can get away with making Charisma your highest score for better spell effects.
• Acolyte may be more suitable for this particular paladin. Acolytes of Philena focus their training on healing and the idea of standing up for what one believes in, as opposed to the Acolytes of Mikkael who believe in the stories of war and dominance of those who would dare stand in one's way.
• While it may be cliche, paladins of lawful good alignment will typically find this to be a very rewarding option, provided that they stick more to the idea of doing good, and always trying to see the right in every creature and not resorting to intolerant violence towards other creatures. It would be extremely hard to follow this oath as an evil paladin or even chaotic paladin, but is doable if the deity in question instead follows an idea of lust rather than love. DMs should consider altering the damage type in such a case to psychic or fire. Of course, love could be very subjective to some individuals, so this idea could also give way for other alignments wishing to take this path.

 

Quick Look: Tenets of Philena

Philena is the Lorian Goddess of Love, and is central to the Mer Orthodoxy as one of the two deities. This particular class and subclass combo are tied directly to her tenets. While she doesn't typically agree with the idea of violence, she does agree with protecting that which is dear to an individual, and wants nothing more than to see a unified Lorias.   Paladins who take an oath in her name will typically follow these tenets.

• Love purely. Give your love wholly and without requirement or contract to those who warrant its beauty.
• Love honestly. To love is to be vulnerable and without deceit. If it means to feel pain at times, it is nonetheless better than a lie of false love without feeling.
• Love without limit. Let your love be known and shown to those who bear witness to it.
• Love to protect and protect to love. Protecting others fuels your love, and that love fuels your protection of others, never forget that the loss of others means the loss of that which you love.

 

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Class Features

You gain the following class features as you advance as a paladin under the Oath of Philena.  

Divine Sense

Starting at 1st level, the presence of evil registers to your senses like a noxious stench, and powerful good rings like heavenly music in your ears. As an action, you can open your awareness to detect such forces. Until the end of your next turn, you know the location of any celestial, fiend, or undead within 60 feet of you that is not behind total cover. You know the type, but not the identity of anything you detect. You also detect any object or location that has been consecrated or desecrated, as with the hallow spell.   You may use this ability a number of times equal to 1 + your Charisma modifier. You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.  

Lay on Hands

At 1st level, your blessed touch can cure wounds. You have a pool of healing power. The amount of healing power is equal to 5 x your paladin level.   By touching a creature, you can restore a number of hit points of your choosing, using one healing point per hit point restored. You may also use five points from this pool to cure one disease or neutralize one poison affecting it. You may cure, neutralize, and heal with a single use of this ability on a single creature, expending points as you prefer, but always following the above guidelines.   This feature has no effect on undead or constructs. You regain any expended healing points when you finish a long rest.  

Divine Smite

Starting at 2nd level, whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can expend one spell slot to deal radiant damage to the target in addition to the weapon's damage.   The radiant damage is equal to 2d8 for a 1st-level spell slot, and gains an additional 1d8 damage for each slot level above 1st to a maximum 5d8. The damage increases by an additional 1d8 if the target is an undead or fiend, in which case the maximum becomes 6d8.  

Fighting Style

At 2nd level, you adopt a fighting technique as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can't take a fighting technique more than once, even if you were to gain this ability again (such as through multiclassing).  

Defense

While wearing armor, your AC increases by 1.  

Dueling

When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons (shields not included), you gain a +2 to the damage roll of that weapon.  

Great Weapon Fighting

When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack with a melee weapon which you use with two hands, you can reroll the die, but you must use the new roll. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.  

Protection

When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you which is in 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be using a shield.  

Spellcasting

You gain the spellcasting feature detailed above starting at 2nd level.  

Channel Divinity

Your oath allows you to channel divine energy to fuel magical effects. Each oath comes with its own options and explanations on how to use them. When you choose to use this feature, you pick which option to use. You may use it once, and then may do so again once you've finished a short or long rest. If your option has a save associated, the DC is the same as your paladin spell save DC detailed in the spellcasting section.  

Divine Health

By 3rd level, the divine magic flowing through you makes you immune to disease.  

Oath of Philena

At the 3rd level, provided you have remained true to the oath, you begin receiving the benefits of following the goddess' tenets up to this point. You gain the associated oath spells and the following two channel divinity options.  

Emissary of Protection

As a follower of Philena, you may use your channel divinity to augment the armor of you and your allies. When you use this ability, you have the option of granting you and your allies bonus AC equal to half your Charisma modifier (rounded up) to a minimum +1 AC, or temporary hit points equal to five times your Charisma modifier to a minimum five temporary hit points. Either effect lasts 1 minute.  

Loving Radiance

Philena's love and protection grants devastation against all who try to do harm to others, and you give this love and protection while leaving yourself vulnerable. To use this channel divinity option requires that you have the holy symbol on your person and a melee weapon in at least one hand. You thrust the weapon towards the ground and the symbol of Philena radiates upon the area you struck, expanding outwards. Any creature within a 30-foot radius that is hostile to you or your party must make a Wisdom saving throw. You yourself roll 1d20 as this occurs. Those creatures take radiant damage equal to your weapon's damage dice 5d4 times on a failed save and half as much damage on a successful save. If you rolled a 20 on your dice, the damage dice of your weapon is doubled (as if dealing a critical hit). You take half the amount of the damage dealt to all of the enemies affected (including if you rolled a 20 on your die). Your allies in this area are then healed an amount of hit points equal to the rolled amount of damage.  

Oath Spells

At the 3rd, 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th level, you learn spells related to your oath. These spells are of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th level respectively. These spells are always prepared and do not count towards your prepared spells. These count as paladin spells for you, even if they are not on the paladin spell list.  

Ability Score Improvement

At the 4th level, and again at the 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th levels, you may choose to increase any one ability score by 2, any two scores by 1, or take a feat (if your DM is using the optional feats rule). You cannot increase a score above 20 in this way.  

Extra Attack

Starting at 5th level, you may attack twice instead of once whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.  

Aura of Protection

Starting at the 6th level, whenever a creature within 10 feet of you is required to make a saving throw, provided that you are conscious, that creature gains a bonus to their saving throw roll equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of +1).  

Aura of the Shining Knight

Starting at 7th level, you gain this oath feature. While wearing medium or heavy armor, you take up the appearance of a knight in shining armor no matter where you go. Your armor and gear can never become dirty. Further, provided that you are conscious, any time a creature must roll against a DC to resist being charmed by you or any allies within 10 feet of you, that DC increases by an amount equal to 1/4 of your paladin level.  

Aura of Courage

Starting at 10th level, provided you are conscious, you and any creatures within 10 feet of you cannot be frightened.  

Improved Divine Smite

Starting at 11th level, you are so suffused with holy radiance that all of your melee strikes are empowered by it. Whenever you hit a creature with a melee attack, that creature takes 1d8 radiant damage. If you use your Divine Smite otherwise, it now gains this bonus damage, increasing the maximum potential damage to 6d8 agnainst most enemies, and 7d8 for the undead and fiends.  

Cleansing Touch

Starting at 14th level, you can use your action to end one spell on yourself or any one willing creature that you touch. You may use this ability a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum once), and regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.  

Soul of Beauty

Starting at 15th level, you gain this oath feature. Your devotion to Philena has given you an aspect of her eternal beauty. You no longer age, cannot suffer from magical aging, and do not suffer the effects of being of old age. Furthermore, once per day you may choose between one of the following two effects.

• Whenever you roll a Persuasion check, you cannot achieve a result lower than your Charisma score.
• Whenever you roll an Insight check, you cannot achieve a result lower than your Wisdom score.

 

Aura Improvements

Starting at 18th level, all of your auras have an increased range to 30 feet.  

Champion of the Goddess

At 20th level, your devotion to Philena is able to manifest in extraordinary ways. This oath feature uses an action and gives you the following benefits for 1 minute.

• Your armor and gear appear as the most idealized versions of design possible.
• You and your allies gain both effects of your Emissary of Protection feature without using a channel divinity.
• You gain resistance to all rolls against you (attacks, damage, spells) with the exception of those related to persuasion or charm.
• You emanate an aura of reconciliation and love that expands out to 60 feet from you. Any creature starting their turn in this aura must make a Charisma save equal to your spell save DC or become charmed for 10 minutes or until it is attacked by you or your allies. You and your allies have advantage on Persuasion checks against it, and can ameliorate any bad feelings held between you, your allies, and it.

  Once you use this feature, you cannot use it again until you finish a long rest.

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Starting Equipment

You start with the following gear, in addition to any gear granted by your background.

• (a) a martial weapon and shield or (b) two martial weapons
• (a) five javelins or (b) any simple weapon
• (a) a priest's pack or (b) an explorer's pack
• Chain mail and a holy symbol

Alternatively, you may forego this starting equipment and the equipment granted by your background and instead gain starting gold pieces to buy any starting gear. This fund is equal to 5d4 x 10 gp.
 

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Spellcasting

By 2nd level, you have learned to draw on the holy power of the goddess. You draw on this magic through prayer and divine rites, casting these spells in a similar manner to a cleric. Refer to the PHB and XGE for spells available to paladins.  

Preparing and Casting Spells

You have a number of spell slots as indicated by the table below. To cast a paladin spell of 1st level or higher (to a maximum 5th level), you expend a spell slot equal to that spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots whenever you finish a long rest.   You prepare a list of paladin spells available for you to cast from the paladin spell list. You can prepare a number of spells equal to half your Paladin level (rounded down) plus your Charisma modifier to a minimum of one spell. The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.  

Spellcasting Ability

Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your paladin spells, as the power derives from the strengths of your conviction to the goddess. You use your Charisma whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Charisma modifier whenever setting the saving throw DC for your paladin spells, and whenever you make an attack with one.

• Spell Save DC: 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier
• Spell Attack Bonus: your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

 

Spellcasting Focus

You may use your holy symbol as a spellcasting focus for paladin spells. Doing so replaces any material components for casting spells. However, it cannot be used in this way if the material in question has a monetary value attached.
 

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